Ascent: A Lalnable Hector Story
by atomjenkins
Summary: Lalnable Hector is one of YogLabs' most infamous prisoners. When a new scientist named Rildenstern has an interesting proposal for him, it seems too good to be true...but Lalnable has learned that nothing in YogLabs can be trusted - not even someone he once called his friend. Spiritual sequel to Descent. Rated T for gore, swears and implied cannibalism.


Viewing the world through a glass pane is a numbingly dull experience.

Watching primitive and idiotic Testificates, which unfortunately takes up a great deal of my time, is not interesting in the slightest. They scuttle about, making their stupid 'hmm' noises and nodding occasionally at each other, or at me. I can't stand it when there's more than two of them in here. Their idiotic noises are so obnoxiously loud, I can't think straight. Xephos knows I've always found those noises irritating; which is why he didn't soundproof my tank. How thoughtful of him. It was also thoughtful of him to strengthen my glass so I couldn't break out and slaughter them all, just to shut them up.

Other dullard scientists come and go, but they also have pitifully small minds; they're not even worth talking to. I just let them perform their tests and hurl their insults quickly and without fuss just so they'll stop wasting my time. I also refuse to believe that any of them are qualified to work here. One of the Testificates claims to be a doctor. Pah. Perhaps if he had the sense to operate on his and his co-workers revolting faces I would be a little more inclined to believe him. Or her. Whatever it is.

Other than that, nothing much goes on. A fire alarm here, the sound of an explosion there, nothing special. Perhaps it would be if it weren't happening so deep within the complex, so far away from my humble cell. It is somewhat entertaining to see the experienced Testificates roll their beady little eyes, deep expressions of 'oh no, what has that idiot dwarf done now' etched onto their faces; similarly it's fun to watch all the new recruits fly into a flustered panic, before someone tells them that alarms going off is a near-hourly occurrence, and often times, it means something as trivial as 'someone's instant noodles are ready'. But this excitement only lasts a mere moment before they all sprint out of the room and I'm left alone in my tank, perhaps the only specimen in this entire room capable of imagining how much more exciting whatever's going on out there is compared to staring at the ceiling in here is. Honestly the only exciting thing that happens in here are my little evening chats with Xephos. Not because he's intelligent enough to offer any kind of interesting discussion, but because he's just…so much fun to toy with. He gets so wound up, and at the slightest things. It's hilarious. If we didn't hate each other so much it could be mistaken for friendly teasing between friends.

Just like the old days.

* * *

"You're a little early today." I observed, intrigued. He was never early. In fact I think he was always consistently late just to annoy me. "Good evening to you, Xephos." I turned to face him, and was a little surprised by what I saw. Xephos normally came in, mutated zombies acting as guards beside him, sometimes just the one brutish monster – Bert or Bort or whatever it was called – but now he walked towards me alone, carrying a tray. On the tray was a rather fancy looking roast dinner – large looking piece of steak; assortment of vegetables; golden and crisp potatoes – and as he got closer, my stomach growled and grumbled eagerly. I licked my lips in anticipation.

"Hello." He said gruffly, eying me nervously as he came right up to the glass pane separating us. Was the lack of guards supposed to show me that he did not fear me; that he was the one in control here, as he so desired to be all the time? Because if that was so, he was throwing it away with all these nervous twitches and apprehensive glances at me. Not that I would ever believe that he wasn't afraid, but it was odd. I pressed my hands against the glass and eyed the dinner curiously. He stared at me for a moment, before seeming to remember that the dinner was even in his hands.

"Oh! Uh…I brought this for you." He said, drumming his fingers awkwardly on the edge of the tray.

"What's the occasion?" I asked, frowning.

"It's my last day working with you." He said, looking somewhat relieved. "Tomorrow someone else is going to take care of you. I'm far too busy to be doing this anymore." He said, gripping the tray tightly, as though he felt somehow empowered by his words. I narrowed my eyes.

"You're leaving me?"

"I'll still be working around YogLabs as usual, but yes, I won't be working personally with you anymore. In fact I don't think you'll see me much in this room at all."

"And why ever not?"

"I'm no longer interested in robotics or cloning. I'll still oversee everything going on here, but I will no longer be directly involved in either of those fields. The management will be left entirely to other people."

I smirked. "And by 'directly involved' you mean you'll no longer be tampering with your friends' memories?"

He stiffened. He thinks he owns the place, acts like he knows everything and like he's always in control, but underneath he's just a frightened little child, lost in this big wide world. It's wonderfully enjoyable to see that child squirm; to see them challenged, cornered.

He cleared his throat. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said bluntly, turning his back to me. He knew. He knew full well. I watched him as he tried to distract himself, hurriedly preparing to teleport the meal into my tank, but he was flustered, pressing buttons too fast, in the wrong order. I leant against the glass pane, watching him struggle delightedly.

"I'm referring to how you feel as though you have the right to control what people are like. What they say and do. You tamper and meddle with their brains and personalities, and then make it so every time they die, another one is always ready to fill its place – your soulless little family. No deviation or variation in your race of pawns, your army of clones. And if someone dares to challenge what you want as the norm…well, they end up like me, I suppose. Locked away like a criminal."

"That's because you _are _a criminal." He said, his eyes glowing a harsh blue. It was a little intimidating the first time I saw that happen, but now it's just an indicator that he's unraveling inside, losing his composure. Now I welcome it.

"Criminal is such an ugly word." I tutted, waggling my finger. "Inaccurate too. I don't remember breaking any laws, nor facing any trial. I am simply a victim of your unjust and twisted sense of superiority."

I saw his fists clench. "_You're _the victim…?!" he said, but he must have realized how cracked his voice was, because he glanced up at me, narrowing his eyes, holding back his emotions. He glared at me, a core of cold hatred hidden beneath the ethereal cyan glow of his eyes.

"Okay, fine. Be like that. After all the shit you've put me through, I just try to do something nice this one time, but no." He pushed the tray away moodily. He thought he was going to make it so much more painful for me by leaving it there in front of me, nearly within my grasp. But I had the intention of making him be the only one who suffered any pain right now. "If you're gonna act like a fucking twat, then see if I care. I'm never gonna see you again, thank Notch, so it doesn't matter to me!" He began walking away, shakily but defiantly.

"It doesn't matter to me either. I didn't want that meat anyway." I was actually lying a little here; roast dinner was always one of my favourites, and the steak did look juicy, well-cooked and delicious…but that was nothing right now. My stomach's growls and salivating sounds fell on deaf ears. "I wanted yours, remember?"

He stopped. I could tell he so badly wanted to walk away, ignore what I'd said, but we both knew he couldn't. I didn't blame him – I too valued my pride very highly, but _my_ chance to walk away was taken from me a long time ago – he at least had a choice. But we both knew he would make the wrong one.

He turned around again, fists clenching and unclenching. So predictable. "Don't you dare. Don't you even _dare_ bring that up."

I pressed my gloved palms against the glass, leaning in. He was a little way away from my tank, but I saw the anger etched into his features clearly enough. "What's that, Xephos? Bring what up? You mean…"

"You know damn well _what_, you bastard!" He said, striding towards me angrily. He slammed his fists against the glass where my palms lay. "Just…just shut up! If you say another word about that, I swear to Notch–"

He stopped. He always stops there. He can never bring himself to do it. There's many reasons for that, but it's strangely ironic that the person who hates me most is the one who effectively grants me immunity from death.

"You'll do what? Kill me?"

He stared at me for a long while, silent, before his eyes dropped to the floor. His fists slid down the glass, before he dug his hands into his pockets. "No…" he said, his voice barely a whisper. "No, not that. You know I can't…" All that raging emotion was now gone from his voice, his eyes vacant. He began walking away again, drifting out of the door, his eyes lighting up his path.

"You know, I'm going to miss you, Xephos. You're the only one who hasn't succumbed to calling me by that nickname…Lalnable Hector, is it?"

He carried on walking, but at the door he looked back at me, an intense grief replacing the hatred behind his eyes. "That's because I'm the only person who knew you when you were Lalna. And I'm the only person who believes that my friend Lalna still exists within Lalnable Hector." He bowed his head and left the room, leaving me alone in my tank, as usual.

Pah. He's so pathetic. Lalnable Hector doesn't exist; it's a nickname intended to scare the Testificates, not a person. I'm still Lalna. I have always been Lalna. Nothing has changed. I don't need saving from anything. It's just that he chooses not to see it that way. He doesn't like to believe that his friend hates him to his very core. It's easier for him to think that the monster that is Lalnable Hector is the one who despises him, not his dear friend Lalna. I intend to make him face that reality at some point, and when he does it will be most enjoyable. Not for him, particularly, but for me, certainly.

* * *

"Good morning, Dr. Hector."

I groaned, the bright lights of the facility pierced the darkness of my eyelids. I rubbed my head and rolled over to face the source of the whiny voice. A man stood just outside my tank – someone I did not recognize. He was grey-haired and pale, almost as pale as the paneled walls and floors; wearing black rimmed glasses, donned in the usual YogLabs attire of a labcoat, and in his hand he held a black, tablet like device; similar to what I'd seen other scientists, even Xephos, using at some point. I narrowed my eyes at him before lifting my head.

"Good morning. Who might you be?" I asked.

"I'm Vincent Rildenstern, doctor." He said, with authority. "I am…well…I _was, _co-chief of cloning in YogLabs."

I sat up, talking while pulling my goggles on. "Is that so? What happened?"

"Well, Mr. Xephos thought my skills lay more in robotics, rather than in people. However…I have also been assigned to you, as your…carer, I suppose, doctor."

"You must be new here." I said.

He looked slightly surprised. "Um…well, yes, it's only my third week."

"And yet already chief of cloning – well, formerly, anyway. Very impressive." I was obviously lying here.

"Why, thank you, doctor." He risked a sheepish grin. "How could you tell I was new, then?"

"A certain smell about you." I said. He was too clean, too crisp – his labcoat had clearly never seen any blood or gore, or even explosions, judging by its blinding white spotlessness, not a tinge of red to be seen on it – a clear sign that he had not been here for more than a month. "Also, you call me doctor. I don't actually have a doctorate of any kind. I thought everyone knew that."

"No, I wasn't aware of that."

"Clearly not…I must admit, Mr. Rildenstern, that I find it strange that Xephos would send someone new to me…" I thought, but I dropped down to the floor, crossing my legs casually. He seemed slightly taken aback. "…but still, I can't complain. Anytime away from that man is time well spent, in my opinion. What is it you wanted to ask me, exactly?"

"Oh, well, Mr. Hector, I'm…well, I'm not really sure how to go about this…well, I was just wondering if maybe you could tell me about your relationship with Mr. Xephos? There's been whispers and rumors ever since you arrived…but he never confirms or denies anything."

What a childish question. Like gossip around a playground. I smiled sweetly. "Of course I can tell you everything you need to know about that, Mr. Rildenstern. For a price, of course."

I notice him stiffen, but he tries to pretend he has authority. "If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, Mr. Hector…then I…I couldn't possibly…" He doesn't finish, which is interesting.

"No, I'm not suggesting that. All I want is balance. So I answer your questions, you answer mine."

"I suppose…" Big mistake. This is far too easy. "…as long as it's not about any classified projects, of course."

"Yes, certainly, as long as this information remains private between us, which of course would benefit you greatly."

"It'll remain confidential, certainly, Mr. Hector."

"So, the relationship between Xephos and myself? It's…complicated to say the least. It was a few months ago now, but myself, Xephos and Honeydew were planning to go into space. We were going to land on the moon."

"You, Mr. Xephos and Honeydew were friends?" He seems surprised, and his nose wrinkles slightly at the mention of the dwarf. I rather like this fellow. He doesn't think very highly of either Xephos or Honeydew, I can tell.

"Strange, isn't it? There was once a time when we three were inseparable. Now…well, as you can see," I rapped my knuckles on the glass. "…we're always apart." I cleared my throat. "Anyway, this mission into space required us to build a rocket, and for that – not to mention all the other equipment we needed – we had to mine lots of precious minerals; iron, redstone and the like. One day we decided to go on a mining expedition; all three of us together, and, well…let's just say that things went…wrong."

"Wrong? In what way, wrong?"

I sighed, acting regretful, borderline tearful, feigning emotions where in truth I did not care, an old trick I had learned from our friend the spaceman. If people believe you have a weakness, they are a little more willing to expose their own, I've learned. "Well…if you don't mind, I'd rather not go into the specifics of it all…but let's just say that we ended up in a situation where we were low on supplies, with little to no hope of survival left, and…if we didn't…_eat something_, we would have died._ I _would have died if I didn't…_eat_." I exaggerated sniffles and a cracked tone of voice for dramatic effect, but my eyes remained locked with his. Not that I needed to act confident in myself – this was the truth. Xephos knows deep down that I'm right in what I did, and I know that he would have done exactly the same thing had it been him. And we both know that if he'd been the one to do it, he would have been frightened and scared, like he was in that claustrophobic cave that fateful day; scared like I can see he is even now, in this place, near me – but he would have begged forgiveness from me and Honeydew, and we'd comfort him and reassure him and go out of our way to hide it, forget it, bury it in the past. But because it was me…I can't be forgiven. What I did is some disgusting crime, and I can't live the life of Lalna I lived before, and I can't die to escape the life of the outcast, the exile, the monster that is Lalnable Hector. And as the one who put me in this situation, Xephos is going to suffer. And suffer for a long, long time.

The fool Rildenstern actually fell for this, though. "Oh…Mr. Hector, that's alright. You don't need to talk about it anymore if you don't want to, not if it brings back bad memories. I was just curious."

"I thank you for your courtesy."

He lowered his voice, leaning into the tank. "So…you…ate…Xephos and Honeydew?"

My ears pricked. "Yes, I did, and I do not regret that decision. I know for sure that I would have died in that cave had I not made use of the one food source available to me. I did put it off for as long as possible – Honeydew was the first to die; he used up all his energy trying to break out with his bare fists, the poor fool; and Xephos and I spent hours, maybe even days, just sitting there, next to his corpse. Xephos refused to eat him, but I knew that if we left it for much longer the meat would do us more harm than good. But Xephos was the next to die, so I believe that my decision to eat Honeydew's flesh was the right one."

"I see. But surely if you had died, you would have just been brought back to YogLabs?"

I nodded. He was somewhat sharp, then. "And that is indeed what happened. However, Xephos had programmed Honeydew clones to wake up in YogLabs with no memory of what happened to their previous clone – in fact, he made it so the dwarf is not even aware he has clones at all. So naturally, when he died and returned here, he was not aware of our dire situation. It was only when Xephos died could a rescue plan be formulated, seeing how he_ is_ aware of his other clones. So he returned to YogLabs when he died and prepared to rescue me."

"But why couldn't you just have died, because surely you could also have returned to YogLabs?"

"Because Xephos instructed me not to, and as his friend and colleague, I obeyed him. I've wondered about that for a long time, about why he said that – I initially believed it was because he cared for me…but I have recently been enlightened to the fact that he does not." I gestured to the tank again, and he nodded. "I believe it was because something radical happened, something he didn't foresee and therefore he couldn't control. He never expected me – or a clone of me – to be so willing to place my own survival before the dignity in death of my friends. He had not programmed or prepared for it, and so he was sent into a panic. I think he knew that the master clone, and therefore the next clone of me would have these new genetic commands unlocked, which scared him even more, as with each new clone I would become less and less to his design. Hence, why he did not allow me to die, and why I am still not allowed to die."

"But surely…that's not his right to control!"

"Within YogLabs it is."

"No! A person is what a person is. You can't tamper with that! He has no right!"

"No, but then again, neither do you, former co-chief of cloning." I glared at him harshly, and that made him go a most unattractive shade of bright red. He adjusted his glasses bashfully.

"Anyway, it was a few more days before I was rescued. Naturally, I became hungry again. And, well, Xephos' body was available to me. So I took advantage of it in order to ensure I lived to see the daylight again. Of course, when Xephos and his search party finally found me, they weren't too pleased with what they found. Most thought I was a monster, and wanted to kill me right there on the spot. Xephos – knowing that he couldn't afford for my master clone to become 'corrupted' with my 'villainous' acts – ordered me to be restrained and placed in high-security containment. And, well, here I am."

"Mr. Hector, that's terrible!" He exclaimed, before glancing about and lowering his voice, leaning into the tank again. "If it makes you feel any better, I think you did the right thing. And I think you have every right to hate Xephos."

I raised my eyebrows. Intriguing. No longer 'Mr. Xephos', was he? "I take it you're not too fond of him either, judging by your tone of voice?"

"No, not at all. He's an asshole. He's ruined my life. Freddie's too." He was quick to say.

"Freddie?"

"Fred Gosencrantz, the other chief of cloning. He's been allowed to keep his job – but only as compensation for having half his family killed and the other half forced into slave labour by YogLabs."

"Hmm…I see." There were two of them? I knew most people in YogLabs weren't exactly fond of Xephos – but it was mostly the usual 'disliking your boss' type thing, and if it wasn't, they were too intimidated by him to actually do anything about him. Perhaps I had found two people stupid and foolhardy enough to actually get something done.

"I see something as well, Mr. Hector." He said, some cold core of steel emerging in his milky eyes, as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "The rumors were true, it seemed. You are a man of extraordinary intelligence. You have proven this to me in the five minutes I have spoken to you."

"I don't believe I have exhibited any abnormal thinking power."

"That's where you're mistaken. Tell me, Mr. Hector; were you aware of the YogLabs cloning program prior to your imprisonment?"

I folded my arms. "No. In fact all I have told you is merely what I have discerned from the brief explanation Xephos gave me in the cave."

"So it was all a theory?"

"Yes. I don't know anything for certain."

"Then I'm even more impressed. Being in my former position, I am intimately familiar with the terms of your imprisonment – and I can say that are you are absolutely correct, to a fault. I can also say that you are perfect for what I have in mind."

I cocked my head to one side. "Mr. Rildenstern, it sounds like you have something to ask me."

"And so I do, Mr. Hector. I would like to ask you whether you could help me kill Xephos."

* * *

Footsteps again. Not the same ones – they walk with a purpose; strong strides and slapping shoes against the polished floor. Before, they would enter softly and quietly, accompanied by great stomps of the zombie guards.

Rildenstern does not walk with guards. He walks alone. And yet I do not believe that he has no fear.

"Mr. Hector." He says, monotone, and as I turn to face him I notice he has a tray, just as I suggested. Good, he obeys someone around here, then.

"Mr. Rildenstern." I nod at him, before turning away, mock disinterestedly. I glance at the camera in the corner for just a moment, not too long to look suspicious. This camera, watching us (although not listening, since it has no sound recorder), believe it or not, was a bigger obstacle to us than the glass tank trapping me in one place. Our plan had to remain secret at all costs – Xephos wielded such power in YogLabs that the slightest mistake could leave our carefully formulated plan in tatters. And the only way he could find out about the plan would be to see something he didn't like on the security footage. So I would have to ensure it remained a secret between Rildenstern and I. And perhaps this Gosencrantz fellow. But I could only do so much. Other than that, I had to…'trust' Rildenstern with this information, 'trust' him not to share it unwisely. Though I couldn't be too disgusted by this notion – this mutual understanding was made easier by the fact that it would be of no benefit to him to betray me. I understood that, as he did also, I imagine. This was, as they say, 'nothing personal, just business'.

"Here's your dinner, Mr. Hector. I hope it's to your liking." Rildenstern said, flat. He placed the tray in the teleportation device, tapped in the combination calmly, and the meal was transported inside my cell. See, Xephos, that's how it's done.

"Thank you." I said, equally emotionless, lifting the tray not too keenly. Discreetly I felt underneath the tray with one finger.

"If you don't mind, Mr. Hector, I'll be overseeing you while you eat dinner."

My finger brushed against a long, flat thing, clearly taped to the bottom of the tray somehow. I smiled. Exactly as I'd instructed. "That'll be no problem, Mr. Rildenstern."

I sat down on the floor, cross-legged, watching Rildenstern closely. He nodded and took a seat, his eyes drifting. I noticed now that he did not appear to have his tablet with him. With one hand I began typing underneath my tray, careful not to tip it, and with the other hand I picked up my fork and prodded the meat with it.

"Mr. Rildenstern, what is this?"

"It's beef, Mr. Hector. Steak."

As I suspected. "Steak, I see. A delicacy I once would have devoured, but having sampled far more delicious meats, this rubbery, tasteless mess is no longer to my liking."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Hector. Does that mean you're finished with your meal?"

I confirmed my actions on the tablet with a final, defiant swipe of my finger on the screen. "Yes, I'm finished."

"Very well. You may return it to me." He did not take my eyes off me as I placed the tray back in the teleporter, and he retrieved it with the flick of a switch.

"So," he lowered his voice, "…did you do it?"

"Obviously, as we agreed." I said, nodding, slightly insulted that he even asked me. "I hacked into the mainframe – which was rather pitifully easy, I must say – and changed the scheduling. All of the CloneSec guards are scheduled to have lunch at the same time – precisely 1:30pm tomorrow, to return to duty at 1:55pm. So for 25 minutes, you will be able to move freely, as I promised. And they won't be able to follow you."

"Excellent work, Mr. Hector. Once Gosencrantz and I kill Xephos' master clone, his ability to respawn will be gone for good! Then it's all just a matter of…tidying up, which I'm sure we can arrange quite easily."

"Indeed. The rest is up to you."

"Yes…" he paused, thoughtfully. "…so, you're quite useless to me now, aren't you, Mr. Hector?"

I fell silent. Surely he wouldn't be so overly dramatic, so plainly predictable…?

"You've served your purpose, Lalnable Hector. But I know a lot more about you than you do about me. For example, I've been here for years, not mere months. And in that time I've learnt to spot a liar. And I'm afraid to say that while you think you're all high and mighty, doing what you must to survive, and so fiercely intelligent – you're nothing but a crazy serial killer. Don't think that Gosencrantz and I haven't heard about your reputation. You use people and then cast away their shells when it suits you. Not me, and not Gosencrantz. You may have Xephos wrapped around your little finger; you may be safe from him, but that's going to change. Everyone in the cloning bay – Xephos, you, and that fucking irritating little dwarf, the owlkeeper, the poolboy, the mage and the crazy mushroom lady – they're all going to die. Things are going to get changed quite a bit around here. Half of my village was slaughtered thanks to the blood mage in there, and the other half was killed as part of YogLabs' 'groundbreaking research' in getting to the moon using a trampoline. Once we get rid of all of you, we can start doing some proper research. The last thing we need is crazy cannibals ruining everything. And you're not going to ruin this plan, either." He stopped for breath, pulling out the tablet from underneath the tray. He swiped across it with his finger and hovered a digit just above the screen impressively. "You're an intelligent man, Doctor, or at least you claim to be, lording it over us all. What do you think a panic button does?"

"I imagine…" I said calmly, keeping my eyes focused directly on him. "…that it summons a few guards, alerts a few people, probably Xephos, all that kind of thing."

"Correct." He said, beaming widely, his finger inching nearer to the screen. "And what do you think they're going to do to you? When I press this big button here? You're already in a lot of trouble, aren't you?" I opened my mouth, but he shook his head. "I can only imagine what they're going to do…even so, you'll probably not be seeing me again until I come back to…tidy things up." He flashed what I assume was supposed to be menacing smile. Well, I've had plenty of time to practice being menacing to myself in the mirror.

I walked very slowly, making each step delicate and deliberate as I walked over to rest my palms on the glass. "You're an intelligent man, Mr. Rildenstern, or at least you claim to be, lording it over me. So , betrayer, tell me…" He looked at me fixatedly, but his hands were trembling slightly. I purred, smiling widely. "…what do you think _I'm _going to do to _you _when I get out of here?"

I saw his throat bob. "Unfortunately that opportunity will never come, Lalnable Hector." He said, swallowing defiantly again, slamming his finger down on the button.

* * *

_Darkness…engulfs me…I'm falling, falling…falling…Lalna…falling, falling…Lalna…falling…Lalna…_

"Lalna!"

I twitched, and my eyes shot open. I sat, bolt upright, glancing about. I was surrounded by darkness. For a moment I let my confusion dictate my speech. "Where…?" I blurted out, before a voice jolted me into reality.

"Lalna! Up here!"

I glanced upwards. Xephos stood on a balcony, high above me, like some emperor overseeing the petty fights in an arena. Hmph. I stood somewhat shakily, making my way up to the glass – that in itself seemed new; it smelt wrong, it felt waxy and strong beneath my fingers, not like before. I could see – even so low down – that Xephos wore an expression of great disdain. He shook his head at me, before speaking into a microphone, his voice booming around my cell. "Lalna, are you alright?"

"Feeling sentimental, Xephos?" I responded, noticing his softened tone. He frowned.

"just answer the question."

"Yes…yes, I'm quite alright." I glanced around. "Where am I?"

"You're in a new cell. Rildenstern sounded his panic alarm, so we came running, and then he expressed concerns that you may have figured a way out of your cell. So I got Bort and some other guards to take you here. I think you'll find, if you look down, that this cell is rather impossible to escape from."

I did as he asked, and like the walls around me, there was nothing but blackness to be seen through my glass floor – a hole leading straight to the Void directly beneath my feet. Curses. Now it was near impossible – as Xephos had said – to break out of here. But that was of little concern to me right now.

"Rildenstern…Rildenstern!" I slammed my fists against the glass, surprising him rather. It was rare I showed this much emotion, I suppose. "Xephos, you have to listen to me! Rildenstern – and Gosencrantz – they're both plotting against you! They have a plan to take over YogLabs!"

"Rildenstern and Gosencrantz? Which ones are they again…?" Xephos said. He chuckled after a brief think. "Anyway, I'm sure it's nothing. Probably just some rumo–"

"I'm not making this up! It's true!" I suddenly yelled. He stared at me, perplexed at my change of character.

"What's wrong with you? You're acting very–"

"Xeph, they're going to destroy your master clone!"

My words echoed around for a few, awkwardly silent moments. I lowered my hands and my head. "Listen, Xephos. Those two have a plan. They're going to kill all of our master clones – everyone; me, Lomadia, Rythian, Sjin, Sips – starting with you and Honeydew. They asked me to help them, and – perhaps stupidly, foolishly – I helped them, and look where it's got me. But you…you still have something to lose, something to live for. I know you think I hate you…and…well, that's not necessarily false…but there was once a time, not so long ago, when we called each other 'friend'. And I fell from that position when I lost something precious to me, when _I _had nothing to live for either. And, yeah, maybe I do hate you. Maybe I loathe you. But I don't want you to end up like me. That is a fate I would not wish on anyone."

Our eyes remained locked for a long, long, unbearably slow time, each tick of the clock pulsating in my chest uncomfortably. His glowing blue eyes were the first to drop to the floor.

"Where is Rildenstern now?"

"With Gosencrantz, at the staff party." He looked at me again, his eyes hard and cold. "I don't trust you, by the way. And I don't believe you either." He said, but I thought I noticed the ghost of a cheeky smile on his face, one I hadn't seen in months. "I'm going to go find Honeydew. We're going to test your theory, Lalnable. We're going to test it using hamsters." He gave a wan smile before darting away, somewhat excitedly. I watched him go, a small smile on my face as well, before it stretched into a wide, happy beam.

Sentimental fool. He's far too easy to trick. Just mention the word 'friend' and he's putty in your hands. Believe me when I say that I didn't say any of that stuff to save Xephos, nor Honeydew. I only said it because I like to win, and Rildenstern also liked to win, and certainly thought he had me beaten. Well, he may have been in YogLabs for years as he claimed, but he was truly naïve if he believed that I would give up without a fight.

* * *

_Remember the taste of the meat, Lalna? So succulent and delicious…_

Meditation is a most calming experience. This new cell is not so bad actually – the blackness below me, rather than serving to remind me of my inescapable cage, just makes me feel like I'm floating, drifting endlessly in a place of no worries or noise – certainly not something I could have achieved in the hive of Testificate activity where my old cell was.

_His meat, only his…the divine taste of it…remember how you scoffed it down…you said 'just one piece' but you kept going, hunks and chunks of that glorious flesh, you couldn't stop yourself…_

"This is where we kept one of the particularly dangerous clones…uh…he was a bad clone."

"Why is he moving…so weirdly?" A grating voice replied.

I opened my eyes in irritation and glanced upwards. Xephos and a villager stood there, watching me curiously…but the villager had the voice of Honeydew?

"Hmm…I don't know. He's Lalnable Hector. He's a terrible man." Xephos gabbled, giving me a little nod when the Honeydew-villager wasn't looking, as if to tell me 'you were right, something's up…thanks for the warning' or something along those lines. I rolled my eyes at the both of them, and returned to my deep state of peaceful meditation, their words faint whispers, distant from me.

"He's terrible. He's the only member of the YogLabs staff, Honeydew, who's killed more Testificates than you have."

_Not true, actually. I've never killed one of them, though believe me I've been tempted._

"Oh my God, he's a monster!"

_Yet another one to add to the ever-expanding club of people who think that._

"That's right. He is an absolute lunatic, so we put him away."

_Just ignore them, Lalna, they're incompetent. Think about when you were devouring their flesh…_

"Oh jeez." I heard footsteps. "'Do not tap on glass.'"

_Don't you dare…_

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Don't tap on the glass!" Xephos said, sounding worried. My eyes snapped to where they were squabbling. "It makes him angry. We don't want him breaking out again like last time…"

Tap. Tap. Tap. I eyed Xephos darkly.

"Stop tapping on the glass, you maniac!" he commanded, and the villager snickered before backing off. Xephos rolled his eyes before the two of them headed through the door.

_I thought you'd be returning here at some point, Xephos. You may have tried to rid yourself of it, wash your hands, but a king cannot get rid of the slums and crime in his kingdom. People will always suffer, even if you claim you're not the one doing it. You're not exactly stopping it either, though, are you? You try to play God, but playing God is a dangerous game. A game that is going to cost you either your sanity or your life, whichever comes first._

_I intend to make it both._

I heard Honeydew scream.

Then gunshots.

Then silence.

A long, cold silence.

Then I saw him walk back across the corridor.

Silent.

Shocked.

_Solitary._

He looked at me sadly, intense grief filling his eyes, before he looked away, leaving me alone once again. His eyes do not glow anymore. I allowed a smile to creep onto my face. I knew Rildenstern would play his final ace soon enough.

_You walk free this time. But no one can live forever._

* * *

Alarms blared. Footsteps – clunks of boots, patters of feet, stomps of monsters.

I hear glass smash and something sharp puncturing skin. Sounds delicious.

He marches in, with an army of them behind him.

They all leave without him.

I watch them all go, one by one, they depart. He departs too, in his own way, sent into a deep sleep by the cold blanket of frost that now covers him as his master clone bleeds to death, stabbed and crushed by the claws of a rogue robot.

He never leaves the room.

In a way, I'm happy. I got what I wanted. I made him suffer for those few glorious hours. I killed him.

But then again, he escaped. He escaped everything. And maybe he was the only one who could have helped me escape too.

But still, revenge and victory tasted sweet enough for now.

_Playing God is a dangerous game, Xephos. And I'm afraid I win this round._

* * *

_A/N: A spiritual sequel to _Descent: How Lalnable Hector Came To Be_ that took a hell of a long time to write! I wrote this as part of the Yogscast Big Bang on tumblr, which was a super stressful but quite fun project I hope to do again! Hope you enjoy! :D_

_AJ_

_PS: Yes, more BFTD soon. I promise._


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